This framework document from Communities and Local Government describes how regeneration is to be taken forward to reverse economic, social and physical decline in areas where market forces will not do this without government support.

The framework is designed to ensure that there is a tighter focus on economic outcomes and worklessness, that effort is driven at the right spatial level close to communities and that resources are targeted by investing where it will have most impact by supporting those communities.

Focusing resources will involve getting smarter and making a bigger difference to people who need it most by really homing in on the areas which need it most. These are the kind of places where young people can still reach their 16th birthday without ever going further than the six streets around their house. The kind of places where signing on has more or less become a way of life and where a poor physical environment compounds low aspiration – and vice versa.

There will be a renewed emphasis on the economy. Regeneration should encourage self-sustaining change to enable places and people to thrive independently, not forever relying on large-scale investment from outside. The approach will be to kick-start the economy, creating jobs and prosperity

The framework makes clear that regeneration needs to happen at the right level, and as close to the community as practicable. It is recognised that the most impressive transformations often occur when people feel involved, engaged and in control of what happens.

The framework will be put into practice in partnerships between Whitehall, Regional Development Agencies, the Homes and Communities and Councils.